MARY’s PHOTO IN THE HOUSE

Mary had been the rock star’s lover for six years before he decided he preferred male partners. Shortly before his death, he became anxious to provide her and her two children with some security. For this reason, he decided to leave her his most prized possession – his ‘dream home’. Having agreed to be godfather to her eldest son Richard, he liked the idea of his house one day becoming the family home it now is. It is easy to see how much he thought of her. ‘Love is the hardest thing to achieve and the one thing in this business that can let you down the most’ he once said. ‘I have built up an immense bond with Mary. She has gone through just about everything’.

Not only did Freddie leave his magnificent Georgian mansion, in London’s Kensington, to Mary, but also the bulk of his multi-million pound fortune, with an income for life from his vast record sales and publishing. The house stands behind an expansive walled Japanese garden. Freddie was particularly fond of Japanese art and had encouraged his last boyfriend Jim Hutton to create the garden, which is still filled with flowering trees and multi-coloured roses. Freddie always had a flair for style and spent a fortune transforming the house into a splendid palatial home.

The late Freddie Mercury’s sumptuous music room, in his magnificent mansion in London’s Kensington, has an excellent view of the walled Japanese garden. The main focus of the room is a massive window which filters the daylight onto a giant chandelier and mirrors, giving the whole room a bright and airy feel. Mary inherited the Georgian mansion and all the furniture within, including the piano where Freddie composed many of Queen’s smash hits. Mary urged Freddie to place the house and its contents in trust, but he wanted her to have it.

Towards the end of Freddie’s life, he surrounded himself with a small close knit group of friends he could trust completely. After a run of disastrous, tempestuous relationships around the world, he would confide to pals that he felt betrayed by many of the people with whom he had entered into relationships. There was one former partner who he never lost his admiration for – Mary, pictured in the mansion’s magnificent drawing room, where she would sit and talk to her old friend when he retreated from the public eye as his condition deteriorated. The room is full of his favourite Japanese furniture and art, oil paintings and Dresden china. The singer wanted Mary to have his dream home to give her some security.

One of the most enduring images fans have of Freddie onstage is him sitting by his piano playing classic Queen hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions and Seven Seas Of Rhye. The top of his grand piano, in the music room of the house, is covered in silver framed pictures of Mary and her family. There are also many pictures of Mary with Freddie, which capture the happy days she once shared with him.

Mary in the house’s magnificent dining room, where Freddie threw many highly extravagant dinner parties for his guests. Mary, who grew up in a terraced house in Fulham, found there was much to cope with after Freddie died – the responsibility of the house and staff and suddenly coming into wealth. Mary moved into Freddie’s home when he passed away in 1991, but as she wandered through the huge galleried sitting rooms, surrounded by Freddie’s many possessions, her feelings were of confusion and loneliness. ‘It was the most difficult time of my life after Freddie died,’ she admits. ‘I knew I was having trouble coming to terms with his death and everything he had left me. It was hard’

The spacious hall is bedecked with fine art and the beautiful china Freddie was fond of collecting. Mary recalls that when Freddie had some cherished free time off from touring and recording with Queen, he liked nothing more than to tour the King’s Road antique markets near his west London home. The flamboyant singer would often search to see what unique pieces of china he could discover for his home.

The splendid music room, which along with much of the mansion features beautiful wooden floors. Mary admits that, although Freddie wanted her to have the house, it wasn’t until five years after his death that she could bring herself to sleep in his yellow master bedroom. ‘I lost somebody who I thought was my eternal love,’ she says. ‘When he died I felt we’d had a marriage. We’d lived our vows. We’d done it for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You could never have let go of Freddie unless he died – and even then it was difficult,’ she adds.

Memories of her dear friend surround Mary throughout the house, where generous Freddie loved to hold glitzy parties for his friends. Mary admits she’s kept the decor and furnishings exactly as they were when Freddie died. ‘He had impeccable taste, so why change it?’ she says.

Mary in the dramatic minstrel gallery, furnished in gold and red, where Freddie used to sometimes hide and watch with amusement the behaviour of his party guests in the large drawing room beneath.

Mary and Freddie together happily. ‘One thing that was always constant was the love’ she says. ‘We knew we could trust each other and be safe with one another. We would never hurt each other on purpose’

Thank you Freddie for all of your music with Queen. Like you said the show must go on and it has to this day (your music) from generation to generation around the world. Most of all a big thank you for the gift of life that you, Queen, and many others in being apart of the Band Aid concert in 84 and helping the Ethiopia people. In Jesus name may you rest in peace and God have mercy on your soul. May God and Jesus focus on the good you did here on earth. Just remember this you were never alone. We (brothers and sisters) have always been with you. I pray for you.

What a very beautiful house, having watched a lot of interviews of Mary it is very clear that she had a very deep love for Freddie and he for her, the fact that he left her this magnificent Mansion, the bulk of his estate and rights to his record sales and publishings when he had a lover of 6 years shows how much he loved and trusted her and respected her. God bless you Mary . R.I. P dear Freddie. until you both meet again.

I think they had a very special relationship. Mary did not love Freddie for his money…….he knew that too. It is insulting to his memory to degrade the person he cared so much for.. God bless you Mary and your lovely children.

Freddie will never be forgotten. His music and his greatness will live on. How lucky for you to have known and loved such a talented and special person. Thanks for sharing, I am sure he is resting in peace knowing he had such a wonderful person to love and trust and to leave his personal belongings to who would love and enjoy his favorite things with grace and respect. i would feel like the luckiest woman alive if I were you. He was such an inspiriation to so many. God Bless.

Freddy was truly a man ahead of his time.. so unique, so talented, and wonderful. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing his music today and seeing his videos.. It is breath of fresh air… sweeping over me once again!

Freddie at times was true genius and true idiot. Musically he was a pioneer in new rock and roll; in love he was a complete failure. There was a way he could have been with Mary but he chose to throw his life away on the seedier side of life. And he knew what was in store for him. I pity him in his life. I pity Mary for trying so hard to help a hopeless case.

I understand that everyone has a right to their opinions but it’s quite shameful to see so many negative comments. This Woman has opened this page to give others an intimate look into her life and that of Mr. Mercury as well. Some might want to consider an old saying; “If you don’t have anything good to say…then don’t say anything at all”. Thank you Mary for insights into the both of your lives. I wish you Godspeed and peace as you live your life.

Only recently did I watch a two hour Biography Channel special on Freddy Mercury and in addition a two hour special on Queen. Upon watching I was both touched by his personal story and blown away by his talent. How fitting that he should leave the bulk of his estate to Mary who began as his lover, but who remained a lifelong friend to the very end. Thank you, Mary, for letting us see the beautiful home of a beautiful man. Rest in peace, Freddy!

I believe Freddie acted out the part of a rock star by behaving in the way he knew was expected in that role. He was unusual in that he certainly had wider talents and interest than many others of that era. People tend to forget that he came to the UK from Zanzibar in his late teenage years having lived in an Indian boarding school from the of 8. His fairly sheltered upbringing gave him some good values which he shared with his friends like loyalty and fairness – although he may have been less equipped to handle the rock star lifestyle.

Rest in Peace dear Freddie!
And Hope you have the New Life that you can enjoy with all of us.
We all pray for you Freddie. Queen wouldn’t have been as good as it is without if it wasn’t for you. I hope you are up in Heaven with God and the Angels enjoying your life. Even if your not up there now I hope you can be up there very shortly when we all get up there so we can enjoy listening to more of your awesome songs.

I just found out about the death of Freddie. I am so sorry for your loss. He was such a brave and loving man. And I pray that he is with the Lord Jesus Christ and singing with the angels in heaven. Because Freddie Mercury was truly a angel on earth. And God always calls the good ones back home. Now he doesn’t ever have to worry about not having the love he needed. Because I’m sure that God and Jesus Christ is showering him with abundance of love. We’ll all miss you and love you here on earth until we can all be together in the second coming of Christ Jesus. And live with no pain and no sorrow and no death anymore.

My mother was a teacher of one of his God children in Munich, she remembers shortly after he passed away. Now I work as a consultant and stay in the Hilton 4 days a week 10 mins from Logan Place. Small world…..

Thank you very much of sharing your memories and this wonderful pictures of the house where Freddie lived and you live now, I am sure that that no one is able to understand how much you loved each other. I am a singer from The Netherlands and I am singing the music from Queen, it is unforgettable beautiful music what Freddie wrote, his voice is so great, he sang with all his big heart, so talented! So sad that he left the world so young! Thank you very much, Mary, and when you visit Holland you are most welcome at my house! Warm regards, Astrid van Helden.

It saddens me so much to know that Mary is suffering such loneliness. I know what she is feeling. The memories would be all consuming and in everything she sees in the mansion. It is evident in all and any photo that they both loved and respected each other for life. I agree with Leo about him not being so equipped to handle the rock star lifestyle too well. He came from such a respectable family, but he spent most of his time in boarding schools and college. He makes mention of a school master chasing him around and closes the subject on that part of his life, but it did play a role in his later switching to the opposite sex to work out his anger issues and trying to be the biggest and best or worse in all areas of his life, because that was his drive. His personality. I see inocense being partly shattered and creative juices using a lifestyle as a way to make something out of his life and for his band members and everyone else who depended on him. I see a very less than confident man in his mansion partying with his new friends and acting out in his love affairs what was missing in his life. I believe he was gay and tried to do the right thing or what society expects anyway, but it was not to be. Given all the attention he needed, and all the money at his disposal I can see how he could get lost in his quest for love and his need for something to get his creative juices flowing. remember too that drugs were prevalent back then and Freddie seemed to already have tremendous energy naturally. Freddie said in one interview “He’s looking out for me” Pointing upwards to heaven. In one interview he said if he had to do it over again that he would do it “slightly differently”. Who are we to judge anyone’s salvation? What goes on in the mind and heart of another in his knowlege of impending death? No one knows what is happening as far as repentance and humility goes between us and our maker, unless we chose to share it with others. Freddie had a right to work out his own salvation with his God and keep it to himself just like anyone else who knows they are dying. How dare anyone try to play God using Freddie as an example of wickedness.His religion according to one SOB, does not teach about or believe in Jesus Christ. therefore he is in Hell. Well anyone who doesn’t know Jesus, will be given another chance to know him , because Jesus doesn’t let his fold stay lost. He will rescue them from Hell if neccessary because He is all about Love..If people think this is outrageous thinking, it is no more outrageous than one assuming another is in Hell. Our desire to see another in Hell, and Jesus ability to change them is the difference between unconditional love and ignorance. I have read a lot of crap about Freddie in the last few hrs, and it shames me to see the meanness of some people. Everyone who has to see another’s downfalls in order to raise himself up is not ok in my book.. Freddie’s legacy is one of love. His followers are not idiots. Many of us have used Freddie and Queen’s music to work out problems and confusion in our own lives. The music is for the most part very pure and innocent. The sound they created together had to be something from God..Christ loved a sinner..NO ONE IS WITHOUT SIN except Christ..Thank you for indulging me, and if you got bored and gave up, thats ok too.

Always a beautiful couple. Sometimes life sends us in different directions. But would the both of you been as strong or close in a different type of relationship? The two of you touched each others souls.

Thank you Mary for taking such care of the home he loved so much. I had the pleasure of meeting him backstage when Queen performed in Boston. He was filled with joy, goofiness and couldn’t help but make everyone around him laugh and smile. I miss him much as does the world. God Bless you and your family and I hope his home remains in your family till the end of time. He was so lucky to have someone like you in his life to love him unconditionally !